Yum, Angel food cake 🍰! This is one of my favorites😋
I admit that I have made many angel food cakes in the past. In fact, this time last year, I was working on a gluten free version for a yoga retreat that I was catering. Still, I was excited to bake this one for the June challenge
If you haven’t tried this yet, I definitely encourage you to give Sally’s version a go!. She has a helpful video as well. There are only 6 ingredients needed for this creation.
All the leavening for this cake will come from the whipped egg whites, so you need to start by separating 12 eggs
Set the egg whites aside to come to room temperature, as cold egg whites will not achieve the proper volume for this cake.
This cake is exceptionally light, so regular granulated sugar is too heavy for the batter. I used to just buy super fine sugar at the grocery store, but couldn’t find any😳 Sally has that covered however, as she recommends grinding granulated sugar in a food processor. So, I placed 1 and 3/4 cups of granulated sugar in my processor and let it run until the sugar was a fine consistency.
1 cup of the (now) fine sugar was removed and set aside, while 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons of cake flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt was added to the remaining sugar, and pulsed to combine
Now it’s time to beat the egg whites. But, before I added the whites to the mixing bowl, I used a trick that we were taught in culinary school. Egg whites are extremely sensitive to fat, meaning if ANY fat is present in the mixing bowl, they will not whip up.
This is why there can be no yolk in the whites to begin with, and why I always use an acid in my mixing bowl.
The lemon does not flavor the whites, but the acid will help the whites to climb the bowl as the air is incorporated. Cream of Tartar is added to stabilize the whites as well.
Once the whites begin to take on some volume, add the reserved cup of sugar, slowly!
Do not over whip! The whites need to be at soft peaks, not stiff! This is not a merengue.
Continue until the whites form a gentle peak, in the above picture you can see how the whites hold shape but the tip curls over.
Now that the whites are whipped, the vanilla is added and quickly mixed in. Next the dry ingredients need to be added, in three additions, and folded (carefully) after each addition.
Remember, you don’t want to knock all the air out of the whites!
After all the dry ingredients are incorporated, it is time to add the batter to the UNGREASED tube pan. If you grease the sides, the batter will not rise up!!!😲
Into a 325F oven for about 45 minutes and bake until a toothpick comes out clean
Immediately invert the hot cake and allow it to cool for about 3 hours, this will prevent the light cake from collapsing on itself
Run a knife around the outside of the pan and the inner tube to release the cake. I also run the knife across the bottom of the pan
The cake is great as is! However, I like to add a lemon glaze and some fresh berries 😉
Then we chow down!
Another awesome Sally challenge😇
Next month will be Sally’s 30th Challenge!! I am excited to say that I have participated in all of them so far 🌟 Looking forward to the next one!
One of my favorite cakes!
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❤️
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This is one of my favorites! My grandmother always had one ready for our visit. Absolutely delicious!
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Way to go granny!!
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Wow! simply amazing and what a beautiful recipe, seems yummy. Lovely, dtills.
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Thank you Kamal💕
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Welcome 👍👍👍
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Mmmm this looks so good! Is it just me or does the batter look pretty good too? 😂 I love the icing & fruit decor. You take brilliant photographs! xx
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Aw, ☺️ thank you! And, I did taste the batter 😋
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This looks absolutely delicious, Dee Dee! Lemon glaze and berries seem like a great addition! 🙂
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Thanks Amy❤️
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A fat free cake is right up my street! I’ve never made this cake before so I read your instructions with interest. Looks fantastic with the glaze and fruit! A real showstopper.
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Oh, thanks Monika!! You would love this one 😇💚
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Not only do I love angel cake but you added my favourite, lemon glaze… My mouth is watering! P.S. I have a favor to ask you: do you still have the pic you took of me wearing the same t-shirt as two other people? Long time ago but you may still have it. I lost the pic when my computer died on me. Keep well dear friend.
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Do you mean the one I took in Montreal? I might, I can check. But, it was just one other person, not two. So I am wondering if that is the picture you want?
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Yes, it is the one I am talking about. If you look a the other person in the background, she/he is also wearing a similar t-shirt. I remember this because when you took the pic we thought it was an awkward fashion encounter… So hilarious!
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